Call for Abstracts

Welcome to the ASBrS 21st Annual Meeting Call for Abstracts! Please review the guidelines below for helpful information on preparing and submitting your abstract for the Annual Meeting. Call for “How I Do It” Video instructions are available here.

Abstract Submission Guidelines Overview

• All abstracts for the 2020 Annual Meeting must be submitted online through our online submission portal.
• The online template must be used for all submissions.
• Abstracts may not contain data that have been previously presented or will be presented or published prior to the 2020 Annual Meeting.
• Institutional names are not to be included anywhere in the title or body of the abstract.
• Case reports will not be accepted.
• Character limit – 2950 characters or less if you are including 1 table OR 1 figure, 3780 characters or less for abstracts that are text only. Character limit does not include title or authors. Abstracts that exceed the character limit will not be accepted. The character count does not include spaces.

Please refer to the criteria below if you are submitting a late breaking or ongoing clinical trial abstract:

• Late Breaking Abstracts: The ASBrS will accept late breaking abstracts specific to prospective clinical trials only. Abstracts that concern other data types will not be considered. To qualify as a late breaking abstract, submit a placeholder abstract by the general abstract deadline of November 6, 2019. The placeholder abstract should include background, methods and details of the clinical trial sample size, and potential implications of trial findings. The final version of the abstract is due on February 5, 2020. The final version of the late breaking abstract must include the final results. These abstracts will be considered by the Publications Committee for presentation, and those accepted will be notified.
• Ongoing Clinical Trial Abstracts: Abstracts submitted in this section should describe the primary and secondary objectives of the trials, targeted accrual, sites the trial is open at, date of activation, anticipated study length, and trial design. Abstracts submitted to this category will be considered for poster presentation only.

All abstracts must be submitted through our online submission portal no later than 3:00 PM ET on November 6, 2019. Please email any questions regarding the submission process to abstracts@breastsurgeons.org or call 877‑992‑5470 (M-F 8:30 AM–5:00 PM ET).

Guidelines for Abstract Preparation

Abstract submission to The American Society of Breast Surgeons for presentation at the Annual Meeting is a competitive process, but we are interested in your work and want to help maximize your chances of a successful submission. To this end, we offer the following guidelines to consider as you prepare your abstracts:

Your abstract should adhere to the following format:

• Title
• Background/Objective
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions

Title: Your title should be as concise and accurate as possible. Good titles may ask a question, describe a problem, reference a controversy, summarize an experience, or even state a result. Your title should aim to attract the reader’s interest and make them want to know more, but must accurately reflect the content of your paper. Titles which are misleading or inaccurate will be grounds for rejection. Institutional names are not allowed in the title.

Background/Objective: State in 1-2 sentences the aim of your study. Describe the scientific context, (i.e., why you did the study and include what the hypothesis of the study was). Novelty for its own sake without a clear justification is insufficient reason for a study.

Methods: Briefly state the plan and/or methods used (i.e., how you did the study). For reports of clinical experience, it is essential to describe the patient population and how they were identified and/or selected. For comparisons between two populations, it is particularly important to show how the two groups are comparable and/or different.

Results: Clearly summarize the data (i.e., what you found). Use the format that most concisely and clearly presents your results. Please do not report numeric results as text; a good table or graphic is almost always more effective. Abstracts must be complete and include data in the results. Abstracts that do not include results (“results will be presented…”) will be automatically rejected.

Conclusions: Briefly state the implications of your findings (i.e., what the results mean). It is insufficient to conclude by simply reiterating your aims and results. Specifically, (1) Has your study met its aims? (2) Are your findings important or new? (3) How do your findings compare with those of others? (4) What do you recommend, both now and for the future? Conclusions must be based on the result data presented. Conclusions not supported by data in the abstract will be grounds for rejection.

If you are reporting on a new device or operative technique, we strongly encourage submission to the Society's “How I Do It” video competition. If you are reporting cumulative results with a device or a technique, then we encourage submission of an abstract.

Presentation Types

Authors may submit 1 or more abstracts for consideration for presentation at the Annual Meeting. All abstracts will be reviewed by the ASBrS Publications Committee. The top abstracts will be selected for presentation in 1 of the following presentation formats:

• Oral: Oral presentations will be given during the Scientific Session on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, 2020. Each presenter will be given 6 minutes for their presentation, followed by 2-3 minutes for questions. (In order to be eligible for acceptance, you must have an author who will be available to present during the assigned session.)

• Quick Shot: Quick Shot presentations will be given on Saturday, May 2, 2020. Each presenter will be given 3 minutes for their presentation, which will be followed by a 2-minute discussion period. (In order to be eligible for acceptance, you must have an author who will be available to present during this session.)

• Poster: The Scientific Poster Session and Reception will be held on Friday, May 1, 2020. Your abstract’s presenter must be available to discuss the poster with interested meeting attendees during this session. (Note: The American Society of Breast Surgeons will provide thumbtacks and an 6-foot-wide by 4-foot-high carpeted, framed board on which to mount your poster.) If your poster is accepted, you will be asked to also provide an electronic version of your poster for our ePoster gallery.

Opportunities for Publication

• Accepted abstracts will be published online in the Annals of Surgical Oncology.

• Authors of abstracts accepted for Oral and Quick Shot presentations and selected poster presentations are invited to submit a manuscript for possible publication in the October issue of the Annals of Surgical Oncology. All manuscripts must be submitted by April 20, 2020. No extensions will be given for this deadline.

• Fellows, residents, and medical trainees presenting an Oral or Quick Shot presentation are required to submit a manuscript for possible publication in the October issue of the Annals of Surgical Oncology in order to be considered for the George Peters Award or Outstanding Scientific Presentation Award. All manuscripts must be submitted by April 20, 2020. No extensions will be given for this deadline. If a manuscript is not submitted, they will not be eligible for either of these awards.

Special Awards for Breast Fellows and Residents

Oral and Quick Shot presentations by a breast fellow will be considered for the following:

• The George Peters Award for the best abstract presented by a breast fellow. (Fellows eligible for this award are required to submit a manuscript to Annals of Surgical Oncology by April 20, 2020.) The award was established by the Society to honor Dr. George N. Peters, who was instrumental in bringing together the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, The American Society of Breast Surgeons, the American Society of Breast Disease, and the Society of Surgical Oncology to develop educational objectives for breast fellowships. The educational objectives were first used to award Komen Interdisciplinary Breast Fellowships. Subsequently, the curriculum was used for the breast fellowship credentialing process that has led to the development of a nationwide matching program for breast fellowships.

Oral and Quick Shot presentations by a trainee will be considered for the following:

• The Outstanding Scientific Presentation Award for the best paper presented by a medical student, resident, or fellow. (Medical students, residents, or fellows eligible for this award are required to submit a manuscript to Annals of Surgical Oncology by April 20, 2020.)

A prize of $1,000 will be granted to the winner of the George Peters Award and $500 to the winner of the Outstanding Scientific Presentation Award—both of which are supported by The American Society of Breast Surgeons Foundation.

All Oral presentations will be considered for the following:

• The Scientific Impact Award for the best paper as voted on by the audience. The winner of the Scientific Impact Award receives a plaque.

CME Clinical Content Validation

The American Society of Breast Surgeons is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Before you submit your abstract, please keep in mind ACCME's Policy on Content Validation: All the recommendations involving clinical medicine in a CME activity must be based on evidence that is accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients. All scientific research referred to, reported, or used in CME in support or justification of a patient care recommendation must conform to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.